Mechanical theft alarm for automobiles



Nov. 25, 1924- c. H. KOLLING ET Al.

MECHANICAL THEFT ALARM FOR AUTOMOBILES.

7 Filed Feb. 11 1924 3 Shuts-Sheet 1 IN V N 0R. mar/w 6. io //n m? n w M5, 4 5 u 04 m 6 a m 0 1 5 8 1 a 50 .A 6 6/ M 4 9 mv 4 my .a

C H KOLLING ET AL MECHANICAL THEFT ALARM FOR AUTOMOBILES c. H. KOLLINGET AL MECHANICAL THEFT ALARM FOR AUTOMOBILES 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledFeb. 11

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(7/ ar e; 0 /7 19y Fem/m/o Frye Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

, stares CHARLES H. KoL Ine} AND REINiIoLn mm, or JERSEY 0145?; Newmeme, Assrenoe s or THREE-EIGI-ITI-IS rro osoezn o. LAUCKNER, 0F nooKEN, NEW mess AND mnnnn nmnwes T0 oscAeA. WEISSE'N'IBO'RN; on JERSEYCITY, NEVI JERSEY;

MEeiiANioAL meet: ALARM 1501i immerses.

To all whom 'z'fi may concern:-

Be it known that We; CHARLEs Ken LING and Rnmiroin Pizm'rz, bothcitizens of the United States, both residing at Jersey City', county ofHudson, and State of New Jersey, have inv'entedi certain new and usefulMechanical Theft Alarms for Auto mobiles or which'the renewingis aspecification.

This invention relates to a mechanical heft alarm for motor vehicles(ill Cl is directed to the same general ty e of protection as thesubject matter of our companion application, Serial, No. 673,869, filedon No \Glllbf 10th, 1923, except tliatwvhilel the said copending' caseis directedlto a theft alarm in Whichthe alarm is actually given throughthe employment of electrical means, the present construction operates ina'purely mechanical manner.

The present invention depends for itsoperation upon the utilization of apendulum which in the event of theft is disturbed from the position inwhich it is normally maintainedby gravity and through this disturbinginfluence occasioned by unauthorizedoperation of the car, brings aboutthe actuation of alarm means. In its broad sense, the presentinventioi'ris' similar to our prior invention; although iii the presentcase the alarm means set into operation through actuation of thependulum is wholly different from that heretofore suggested by us. Thuswhile certairibroatl claims to the pe n'd uluiit arrangement may be atthe same time applicableto both con? structioiis, claims to the pendulumcontrol mechanisn'i will Widely differ. I

Theobject of the present i-nventiori'is" to provide an alarm mechanismwhich isten tirely mechanical and in the operation of which theutilization of electrical energy is not required. Theimdeilyingprinciple of the invention involves the employment of an alarmadapted to be actuated by a motor which in practice may be a springmotor and the operationsot which mot'or are controlled by a pendulumwhich under normal conditions maintains the motor in restraint but whichunder the disturbing in fluence of attemptedtheft will' release themotor and permit of its operation to cause an alarm to be iven. Themotor may be energized manuc 'ly or if desired a spring; motor ifemployed may be automatically Wound by suitable electrical means, but itwill be: noted that this electrical means simply serves to keep theni'otorin an energized condition and ready for operation, mechaiiical'means being utilized to actually givethe alarm.

In its preferred practical form, the penduluni which" controls the"giving" of the signal embodies two links, one of which suspended ontheothei" and both of which are suspended on a common pivot. The lowerliiik" iswei ghted andunder ordinary driving conditions, the pendulumwill siving on the-commoi'i pivotwithbotli links thereof sii inging'aline'm'ent; When it desired tocondition the apparatus to give an alarmwhich is the case; Wheirtlie car With which the" device is associated isto be left standing" alone, the upper link of the pen dulum combinationis locked against pivotal movement on the co-mmonpi'v'ot; so that ifthe" car is moved the diSturbinginfiuenoe of such movement will causethe siviriging'of the' lower linkof the pendulum independently ofthe-upper link. A slide is associated with the upperlinl'i' and has acam-like coniiection with the lower liirk so that when the lower li-irkswings independentlyo'f the upper link the slide will be operated" methrough such operation will trip a detent which holds the motor inrestraint. As a result, the motor will be caused to operate and Will-effect the gii' ing of an alarm.

The structure is extremel simple "though absolutely positive in its oeration.

Features of the invention, other" than tliose specifie'd fw-ill" beapparent from the hereinafter detailed "description and claims; whenread in conjunction with the accompariyiiig drawings;

The accompan in drawings illustrate the preferred practical embodimentof the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of alarm mechanism embodying the presentinvention.

FigHre'Z is an end View of the apparatus sh'o-ivn" in Figure 1.

Figures 3 and 4am diagrammatic illusbrackets 41:.

trations showing the operation of the apparatus illustrated in thepreceding figures.

Figure is a diagrammatic showing of automatic electrical rewinding meansfor. reenergizing the spring motors shown in Figures 1 and 2; and,

Figure 6 shows apart of the structure of Figure 5 in a differentoperative position than that shown in the preceding figure.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, 1designates a fram of any suitable construction shown as' embodying twoplates 2 and 3 rigidly spaced apart and supported on suitable Betweenthe plates forming this frame is supported a spring motor 5 mounted on ashaft 6, the opposite ends, of which are 'journalled in the plates 2 andof the frame. The spring motor may be of any approved construction andis provided with a winding gear 7 and driven. gear 8. The energizingofthe .spring accomplished through the winding gear '7 and in the formof the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2, rotation may be imparted tothis gear by a pinion '9 fixed on a wind ing spindle 10 and the upperend of which has associated therewith a key 11 by which it may be turnedto wind up the spring.

The gear 8 meshes with a pinion 12 mounted on a counter shaft and withwhich pinion the gear 13 is rigid. The gear 13, in turn, meshes with apinion mounted on or formed integral with an escapement shaft 14:, oneend of which projects through and beyond the plate 2 and has afliXed tothe outer end thereof a ratchet 'wheel 15, best shown in Figure 2. g I

As the spring unwinds, it drives gear 8 and through the connectionsdescribedeffects rotation of the ratchet wheel 15,which, in turn, actsupon an escapement yoke 16 pivoted at 17 (see Figure 2) and in so doingimparts a vibratory movement to this yoke.

Aflixed to the yoke is the stem 18 of a clapper 19 adapted, whenvibrated, to coact with and operate upon the bell 20 for the purpose ofgiving an audible alarm. The unwinding operation of the'spring is timedby means of a ball governor 21 associated with the shaft 22 andjournalled at its opposite ends in the plates 2 and 3 as shown inFigure 1. This shaft 22 has a pinion 23 fixed thereon and this pinionmeshes with a gear 2 1 fixedon the escapem'ent shaft 14, shown in Figure2, so that through the gearing described, the speed of the un winding ofthe spring'motor maybe controlled,

From the description as thus far advanced, it will be apparent that weprovide a bell and mechanical power means for ringing the bell when saidpower means is in operation. The structure shown for this purposeisthoroughly practical and efiicient and economical to manufacture thoughthis structure may vary somewhat from that described without departingfrom this invention. The fundamental requisite is that the structurewill embody an alarm which may be sounded but the means which sounds thealarm must be normally held in restraint so that the alarm will not begiven inadvertently or when not desired.

This end in the construction shown is accomplishedby employing a brakein conjunction with the governor and which brake is normally set to holdthe motor in restraint, but which will permit thev opera tion of themotor when the brake is withdrawn. Thus, in Figure 1, the governor is 2shown as provided with a brake disc 25 and with this disc 25 cooperatesa brake arm 26 having a brake shoe 27 associated therewith and adaptedto engage the disc 25. The brake arm 26 is secured by means of rivets 28or otherwise on a detent lever .29 pivoted on a bracket 30 formed on andsecured to th plate '3 (see Figure 1). The screw 31 constitutes thepivot of this detent lever. A spring 32 normally impels the lever 29 ina direction to disengage the brake shoe from the disc, but the shoe isnormally in engagement with the disc and against the tension of thespring 32 by means of a stop arm 33. This stop arm is pivoted at 34 onthe frame and is offset or otherwise provided witha shoulder 35 whichnormallyflies in the path of the upper end of the detent lever andrestrains said lever against movement by the spring '32, holding it in aposition to brake the governor. The

weight of the stop arm 33 normally precludes its disengagement from thecletent lever and holds the parts in restraint until such time as thefree end of the stop arm is lifted sufficiently to release the detentlever and permit the spring motor to function.

The means for accomplishing the lift ing of the stop arm at certainpredetermined times and at no others forms an important part of thisinvention which will now be described. 1 Y Extending from the plates 2is a brack et 35 carrying a pivot 36 on which is supported a pendulumconsisting of two links 37 and 38. The upper end of the link 37 issecured to the bracket 35 by the pivot 36, while the upper end of thelink 38 is pivoted by means of a screw 39 to the lower end of the link37. The lower end of the link 38 is provided with a suitable weight 40.Under ordinary conditions, the weight 40 will cause the links 37 and 38to gravitate into vertical alinement and if a swinging motion beimparted to the simulta n eal'ineinent. in unison, it a slide movementpendulum both links will swing ously while maintaining their Moreover,while thus swinging the pendulum will. carry with -'l-.1 mounted forvertical sliding between guides 42- on the upper link 3? 'no movementwill be imparted to the stop arm.

The lower end of the slide 41 is cutout to receive a portion of theupperend of the link 38; but is provided at its extremelower end withshoulders l'adaptedfor cooperation with shoulders to formed' adjacentthe upper end of the link38 in the event that the link 38 is swung outor alinementwi'th the link 37. Mani'festly' thepivotal movement of thelink 38 on the screw 39 while the link37 is held rigidly against suchrotation as would keep the links in"aline'ment, will cause the shoulders44 and 4L5to cooperate to shift theslide a1 upwardly and thereby causepressure against the under side of the arm 33. The sameresult will beaccomplished if instead of13rovidin the shoulders 44 and 45, the lowerend or the slide had a cam or eccentric connection with the upper end ofthelink. In any event,-the brake will be released and thealarnrgiven, ifthe upper link '37 is held rigid "and the lower link 38 oscillatedsincethere will result from this operationan elevationof the slide 41-1which will lift the stop arm-es and disengage the detent lever 29, so"that the spring 32 will thereupon release [the'brake and allow themotor to operate and ring the hell.

Under ordinary conditions of running a car, it is not desirable to givea theft alarm, so that normally the two links will be left free tooscillate in unison-while maintaining their alinement, but means isprovided whereby the link 37 may be locked against pivotal movement onits pivot 36 whenthe car is to be left unaccompanied, so that'anyattempt to thereafter move the car will result in a disturbing of theequilibrium of the lower link 38 and occasion a setting off of thealarm.

In order to thus lockthe upper link, when occasion demands, said upperlink isformed in its lower portion with a segmental retaining portion 16in'the fornrof a flange entending rearwardly from the-, lower end of thelink as shown inFigureQ-and this segmental flange is struck on acenterof the pivot 36. Vith thefflange 46 is adapted to cooperate aretainer 47 carried by'a bracket 48, which is in turn'mounted"onan-arn'i tltl.

The arm 49' isqiivoted at its lower" end to the bracket '30 by a screw*ainlits'upper end'is'imp'elled by means oi a spring 51in such direction"as to "force the retainer '47 into engagementwith the segmental thinge46. Associated witl'rthe apparatus however is a lock 52 havinga' bolt53, the outer end of which lStlllDGCl upand lSttLlZ1'Pl3(ltl111S' toengage the inturned upper end oa ofthe to retractthe bolt and cause "thehook end of the bolt to swing the arm -49 against the tension of thespring 51 and'into'a positionwherein the retainer "47 will'be with-"drawn from contact with the flange 46.

Associatedwith the arm 49 is a stop 49 which, whenthe bolt is retracted,will press against the brake lever 29 abovethe pivot 31 and thus holdthe brake 27 in engagement 'withthebr'ake disc '25. "Under'theseconditions it will be apparent that movements of the car which wouldcause osc llation of thependulum will swing the pendulum as a unit uponthe pivot' l'G and during 1 which swinging movement; the" links and 38will maintain their substantial a'hnement "and "no longitudinal movementwill'be imparted'tojthe slide-41. Moreover "the brake will'be 'locked inset condition by thef'stop49aswell as the shoulder 'W'hen' it isdesired" to leavethe car under the protection oftliealarm apparatus, the

key 55 is operated to "advancethe 'bolt 53 into the position 'shown inFigure 1 and the keyisthereupon withdrawn and kept in possession of thedriver. as the bolt moves forward into the position of Figure l,'l;he

s rin 51 will causethe retainer to" en age b D in.

'tl1e tlange 4l6 and thus "lock the upper link '37 against pivotalmovement. At'the same time the'stop 49' willbe moved free "from thebrake lever 29, leaving said lever locked in place to set the b 'alce,only by the shoulder 35*. If operation of the car isnow attempted,thelink 38 will be disturbed. and

will oscillate with the result that the slide 41 will elevate the arm 33and'release'the brake lever 29 whereupon an alarm will be givenashereinbefore described.

In practice'the keyhole ofthe lock 52 is so configurated that the keycan bewithdrawn only when the bolt is retracted. By this arrangement thewithdrawal of the key whenthe driver leaves thecar will insure that theapparatus is left in'a condition to --aa01-'r protection to the car.

The advantageof employing a flange 46 "of'arcuate configuration struckon thecenter ofthe pivot 36' is inherent in theta'ct that a Qanmay'bestopped on a -grade and the retainer brought into locking positionirrespective of such grade. This will be apparent from F igures 3 and 4;of the drawings. In the former figure, we have shown the parts as lockedin position with the car standing on a level and in dotted lineposition, the parts are illustrated at the instant when movement of thecar releases the alarm mechanism for operation.

I11 Figure 4, however, we have shown the position which the parts willassume if the car is stopped on a grade. In this figure, the retainer isshown as looking the upper link against pivotal movement byits:engagement with a difl'erent portion of the flange than that portionwhich it is engaging in Figure However, irrespective of the part of thearcuate flange engaged by the retainer, the upper link will be lockedagainst oscillation and subsequent attempt to operate the car will causethe sounding of the alarm.

The whole apparatus is in practice housed within a suitable casingpreferably of sheet metal provided with a hole through which the key orkeys may be passed to actuate the lock or to wind the spring. The casinghowever is so constructed that it will be strong and will resistbreakage by unauthorizedpersons and at the same time will precludetampering with the mechanism en closed therein. The parts of theapparatus are compactly assembled within this casing which may berelatively small thereby adapting it to be positioned in any suitableand convenient location such for example as directly back of theinstrument board where the keys can be readily manipulated.

In forming the metallic casing, the casing is preferably provided in atleast one side thereof with perforations through which the ringing ofthe bell may be heard and in order to preclude tampering with theapparatus by sticking wires or implements through the perforations thusprovided, these perforations are preferably covered interiorlyof thecasing with a partition constituting the baffle plate. This partitionmay also be perforated by'holes positioned out of alinement with theperforations in the wall of the casing and the partition is moreoverpreferably spaced a short distance from the wall of the casing andinteriorly thereof so as to allow of the free exit of the soundsproduced by the ringing bell.

In the construction thus far described, the operations are whollymechanical, the spring motor being energized by a manually operable key.In practice, however, we may arrange to have the spring motor energizedor wound automatically. Such an arrangement is shown in Figures 5 and'6.In the former figure 5 designates the spring motor with its winding anddriven gears 7 and 8.

The winding gear in this showing is adapted to be driven from anelectric motor 60. The driving connections between these partsconstitute a worm 61 fixed on the armature shaft 62 of the motor andmeshing with the worm wheel 63 fixed on a counter shaft 64% whichcarries a pinion 65 meshing with the winding gear 7. Then the electricmotor 60 is energized, the spring motor will be wound. In order toautomatically control the winding of the spring motor, and effectrewinding thereof when the spring has run down, we employ an automaticcontrol which will now be described. The operating wires for the motorare. designated 66 and 67 which lead respectively to a switch arm 68 anda fixed contact 69. In the lead 66 is included a suitable source ofelectrical energy 71. A switch arm 68 is pivoted at 70 and is adapted tobe oscillated between the arms 72 and 73 by means of a revolving drum74L pivoted for oseillation on a pin 75. Fixed to the drum is a bracket76, the end of which is bifurcated to straddle a follower 77 havingthreaded connection with a spindle 78 and on'the spindle 78 is fixed apinion 79 which meshes with the winding gear 7. The follower 77 is inthe form of a gear which meshes with a fluted shaft or elongated arbor80 having a fixed pinion 81 meshing with the driven gear 8 of the springmotor. The arbor 80 and spindle 78 are fixed against longitudinalmovement.

Extending from the periphery of the drum 74 and rigidly secured theretois a leaf spring 82, the outer end of which passes through a perforationin an upstanding lug 83 on the switch arm. The opposite end of theswitch arm is provided witha further upstanding lug 84 adapted tocooperate with the drum and under certain conditions to pass throughopenings 85 and'86 in the skirt of the drum as will. presently bedescribed. In operation the parts are so adjusted that as the motorunwinds with consequent rotation of the gear 8, the arbor 80 will berotated and will serve to rotate the pinion 77. Inasmuch as the gear 7remains-at rest during the unwinding of the spring, the spindle 78 willbe stationary during this period and as a result the pinion 77 will becaused through rotation of the arbor 80 to travel longitudinally of thespindle 78 in a direction to the right in Figure 5( This travel of thefollower will cause the drum 74: to be rotated while the switch arm 68remains stationary being locked against rotation by engagement of thelug 84 with the inner periphery of the drum as shown in Figure 6.However, as the drum is rotated, the spring 82 is placed under suchtension as to immediately impel the switch arm 68 in a direction toengage the contact 69 as soon as the lock..8-t is brought-oppositetheopening 86am.. the. drum The; Operationdescribed continues until thelock 84;.and. opening- .186 are alinech whereupon the tension of thespring 82 will imme,diately;throwtheswitch arm into engagement with. thecontact .69iand complete thecircuit through the motor and the motor willimmediately commence to operate. As the motor winds up the spring, thegear 7 is rotated but the gear 8 remains stationary with the result thatthe arbor 80 will be stationary while the spindle 78 will be rotated bythe pinion 79 and the follower 77 will be moved to the left in Figure 5thereby placing the spring 82 under tension in the opposite directionfrom which it is shown in Figure 5 and as it is shown in Figure 6. Thisoperation continues until the spring is wound up by which time thefollower will have moved the drum 74: into position to bring theaperture 85 into alinement with the lug 8% whereupon the spring willthrow the lug 84 again to the interior of the drum from the positionshown in Figure 6 and the operations described will be repeated. It isto be understood that the drum is either eir cumferentially slotted topermit the switch arm 68 to project thereinto or said switch arm maywork at the end of the drum and the openings 85 and 86 may be cutinwardly from the extreme end of the drum. Either construction will givesatisfactory results. The use of the drum thus constructed is for thepurpose of switching the current to the electric motor of]? and on andpermitting of sufficient interval of operation of the motor to effectproper rewinding of the spring motor.

The gearing described is so constituted that proper operation of theparts will result and in, practice, this is readily achieved tlnol1ghusing gearing of proper ratio.

iii)

The steps 72 and 73 are merely to preclude (Wei-travel of the switch armin either direction.

In practice, the alarm mechanism of this invention may be mounted in anyconvenient position on the car to be protected thereby and will befound. to give thorough and efficient protection against theft. Thedrawings show the invention in its preferred form. but inasmuch asslight structural changes may be made without departing from the spiritof this invention, theinvention is to be understood as fullycommensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention. what we claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A theft precluding device embodying a bell, a spring motor.escapement mechanism associated with the spring motor and comprising aclapper for sounding the hell s I r in gmeans 1s. no mally irrespons ye,and. m s. for render ng; the ,braking,mechan sm responsive, to the.opierations 0t ithe gravity member whereby the gravity membermayrelease the motor for operation.

A theft precluding device embodying an alarm, means normally held inrestraint for actuating the alarm, a plurality of gravity membersmounted to oscillate simultaneously about the same pivot and independently on different pivots, means for locking one of said gravitymembers against oscillation, and means operable through the oscillationof the remaining gravity memher while the first is locked to release thealarm sounding means and cause the giving of an alarm.

3. A theft precluding device embodying an audible alarm, amotor normallyheld in restraint for sounding the audible alarm, brake mechanism fornormally holding the motor in restraint, a pair of links pivoted to oneanother and adapted to normally oscillate under the influence of gravityabout a common pivot, means for retaining one of the links againstoscillation but permitting the oscillation of the other link, and meansoperable by the independent oscillation of the last mentioned link forreleasing the brake and causing the alarm to be sounded.

4;. A theft precluding device embodying alarm means, alarm brakingmeans, a re tainer for normally maintaining said braking means in setcondition, a toggle, the terminal end of one link of which is pivotedadjacent said retainer, while the terminal end of the other link isweighted to normally maintain said links in alinement, means forarresting movement of the toggle at its elbow to secure the upper linkagainst movement while permitting pivotal movcment of the lower link,and a retainer tripping device c-arried by the upper link and having acam surface cooperating with a cam surface 011 the lower link andoperable thereby when the lower link is moved relative to the upper linkfor the purpose of actuating the tripping device to release theretainer, whereby the alarm means is permitted to operate.

5. A theft precluding device embodying alarm means, alarm braking means,a re tainer for normally maintaining said braking means in setcondition, a toggle, the terminal end of one link of which is pivotedadjacent said retainer, while the terminal end of the other link isweighted to normally maintain said links in alinement, key controlledmeans for arresting movement of the toggle at its elbow to secure theupper link v against movement while permitting pivotal r a cam surfaceon the lower link and oper-' able thereby when the lower-link is movedrelative to the upper link for the purpose of actuating the slide torelease the retainer, whereby the alarm means is permitted. to operate.' 10 In testimony whereof we have signed the foregoingspecification.

CHARLES H. KOLLING. REINHOLD PRIETZ.

